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Alex Palou gets closer to his 3rd IndyCar title while his rivals get into trouble at Gateway

MADISON, Ill. –– As we look back on the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series title battle, fans could point to tonight’s (Aug. 17) Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Worldwide Technology Raceway at Gateway as the moment that potentially sealed Alex Palou’s claim to his third title in America’s premier open-wheel racing series.

Palou started from a similar position to his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon after receiving a nine-place penalty for an engine change and finished 16th. Palou fought his way into the top 10 by using strategy and avoiding trouble with the leaders, and the championship leader came very close to catching him at two very important moments in the race.

First, eventual race winner Josef Newgarden, after falling one lap behind, attempted to overtake his Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin on the outside. Both were expected to pit late due to a lack of fuel.

As the No. 2 Chevrolet pushed past the No. 10 Honda, Newgarden got caught in the marbles and spun on the exit of Turn 2, prompting the caution period on Lap 196. This gave teams the opportunity to pursue three different strategies for the final long green flag lap of the race.

McLaughlin and Newgarden, who continued after losing just two spots in the spin, were among those who pitted for a tire change. Team Penske's Will Power and Meyer Shank Racing's David Malukas stayed out, planning to pit later. Colton Herta and Palou, their fellow Andretti Global competitors, refueled, hoping to hold out to the end.

The race didn't stay green, however. Power and Malukas seemed to be pursuing the winning strategy of pitting later, while McLaughlin and Newgarden felt the need to quickly get away with other competitors pursuing the same strategy. As the Verizon Chevy and AutoNation Honda battled in Turn 1, Malukas was thrown into the wall, triggering a caution that allowed McLaughlin and Newgarden to pit.

Palou was one lap down at the time of the yellow flag and was just outside the top five. After returning to the lead lap, the restart that followed turned the championship battle on its head.

Newgarden took the lead at the pit stop and took a long time to get going, causing Alexander Rossi of Arrow McLaren to get going early and take Palou's closest championship rival Power with him. The impact briefly threw Rossi into the air and caused a pile-up behind him.

Palou drove elegantly to the end of the track, avoided Rossi's spinning No. 7 and catapulted himself into the top five.

“It was a weird restart where it got really fast and everyone was giving up,” said Palou. “I was lucky. I managed to avoid the accident and ended up back in the top five after recovering from the penalty.”

After a clean final restart, Palou had a quiet but solid day, crossing the finish line in fifth place. However, a penalty from Herta, who was fourth, moved him one place ahead of the Andretti Global driver, who is now Palou's closest challenger in the championship, some 59 points behind.

“It will certainly help,” Palou continued. “It will not work against us.” [There’s] There are still a lot of races to go, there are still a lot of points to be won, so I'm happy that we managed it today.”

Although team owner Chip Ganassi comes out of Gateway with more points, he remains focused on the final four races ahead to extend his lead and stay ahead in the championship battle.

“It means nothing,” Ganassi said of Palou's performance. “There are still a lot of races to go and you never know what's going to happen. We're happy. It was an incredible night. It was unlucky for the guys who had really good cars and lucky for those of us who didn't have such great cars. We'll see what happens. We've got to go to Portland and Milwaukee a couple times and then Nashville. After that, we'll see.”

Despite the significance of Palou's avoidance of the latest incident, Ganassi insisted there were key moments beforehand that helped Palou and the No. 10 team this season.

“There are a lot of key moments when you have a guy like that,” Ganassi continued. “We're just happy to have him on the team.”

Awaiting the two-time IndyCar champion is Portland International Raceway, the final street race of the season, a race that Palou won last season to claim his second title.

“It’s sad that it will be the last street circuit of the year, but we’ll do our best,” said Palou.

Palou successfully defended his lead at the Gateway tonight and with the closing moments the road to his third title becomes a little easier after avoiding all trouble and remaining consistent as usual.


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